All About Pocket Knives

For this thread lets post pictures of knives that have led a venerable existence; Worked hard but still functional!! The criteria:
More than 50% blade loss, still useable, beautiful (please explain this part, as it is often in the eye of the beholder!!
I (hopefully with his blessing!) will kick it off with Fran's great Schrade. Beautiful because of its rare handle material and because the blades speak so loudly of careful but industrious use!

Here's a relic of my own, a well worn Harness Jack. Simple but timeless Ebony handles. Traditional Remington Acorn shield signifying a punch-bearing knife. Still snaps and functions admirably; a testament to perfectly tempered blades and springs! (PA should enjoy this thread, as an advocate of less than perfect knives!!)

Another Harness Jack, I suspect this one was used for its intended purpose. The blade is about 3/8" short, and sharp which is typical of an old working knife, but the punch is down about 1/4" and is ALSO SHARP!! The handle is cracked/chipped on the back, but shows subsequent pocket wear, so it likely kept right on ticking.
Goins and Levine seem to agree the Peerless tang stamp dates from the 1910-1930 era, but they say German made. This knife for all the world, looks like a Robeson. The punch is identical in every way to Robeson patent punches I have, and the bone jig, and pattern shape look very Robeson.
I imagine the farmer tearing open the package from Farmers Guide Magazine, and admiring his new pocket knife, and thinking how it will make his tough life a little easier; a premium for subscribing!! Don't know if that's true, but it is a likely scenario!

Here's another of mine.

Blade and spring match like they've always been together, although the pivot pin looks like it may be the second life for a nail. Still sharp and tight, and it opens and closes with a satisfying CLACK !

There's a hollow depression in the handle just behind the front pin, that feels like it was put there just for my thumb. The stag makes me think this knife was made for someone who took the pride in their work to warrant the finest of tools to do it.

( I can imagine S-K using this to prune his roses.)

Fran

Great idea Fran Charlie! That's pretty good evidence that folks do get attached to their knives!
I think I have a few of those floating around here somewhere. Something about those well worn veterans just draws you to them regardless of their condition:

Beautiful, mellow old stag on that Hawk, Fran. And that rare fish knife still has presence despite the wear Eric!

I am fond of old knives showing honest use, I have never taken many pictures of them to post because they just don't look as good to some as the shiny mint examples.
Here is an old Robeson, plain working man's knife that has given honest service for decades and finds its way into the pocket occasionally.

This was my grandfathers.He had it in his pocket the day he died.Man if a knife could talk the stories some of these old beauties could tell And these scales are truely pocket worn

Here is an old Remington that resides on my work bench and is still used many times each day.
Very sharp & holds it's edge.

This was my Grandfather's 34OT. Blades just like he modified them. I can still see him setting in his little shed with a maple burl on his little bench under the light, his pocket knife in his hand, picking pieces of the bark out of the burl so he could make a clock with it.

Dale

Boulder Western


H. Boker



Are fixed blades allowed? I have a New York Knife Co small bowie I could add.

Well todda, this is all about POCKET knives, but if it was in a picture WITH a pocket knife, we'd just have to look at it !!

A well loved pocket-worn Robeson barlow



I thought I had cropped the Hammer Brand bowie out of the photo.

an old L.F.&C.
3 1/4 closed.

todda wrote:A well loved pocket-worn Robeson barlow



I thought I had cropped the Hammer Brand bowie out of the photo.

I love those old Robeson Barlows. They seem to be the best engineered for fitting your pocket! That old NYK makes a nice background for it! It's been around, working hard for decades!!

OK here's mine. First knife I bought when I started collecting. My wife helped me pay for it and that is THE BEAUTY of it.

Mike

Mighty rare old relic Mike! The wifely memory is icing on the cake!

galvanic1882 wrote:OK here's mine. First knife I bought when I started collecting. My wife helped me pay for it and that is THE BEAUTY of it.

Mike

Mike, A double pull Toe ? Yesh !!

I've been looking around because I have a lot of worn knives, but it seems most are not good/bad enough for this thread.

This is one of my favorites. The beauty of it being that ( I think ) I found who it belonged to.

Fran

I have a cigar box full of old well used/nearly worn out knives I'll have to dig a few out and post them.

here is an old cattaraugus, whats left of a hawkbill

So Fran; are you going to tell us the whole story about who the knife belonged to?? Huh, huh, are ya??

Yea Fran are ya!!!!

FRAN..............................................................................................we are waiting!???

Here are a couple well-used (used-up?) whittlers from Marshall Wells Hardware Co. under the Zenith brand. One appears to have aluminum handles & the other MOP. Both have the shaved center liner. They appear to have been nice knives at one time.

Dale

Mike, I know you have a good excuse right now, but what about you Charlie ? Hasn't the August issue of Knife World made it over the ice road yet ? The answer's in the letters to the Editor.

Initials carved in the handle match the name 'Louis Buehler', hand engraved on the blade. A search of on-line census data revealed a young man with that name from Wurtemburgh, living in Philadelphia in 1880. He gave his occupation to the census taker as an 'engraver on gold.'

The census doesn't give a middle intial, but I'll do more digging when a few other projects are caught up. But what are the odds that a young German engraver in Philadelphia would own a pocket knife made by a German cutler from Allentown ?

Fran

great old worn in knives guys. here is a worn in keenkutter barlow. ya know, i can't just throw em away.

jonet143 wrote: ya know, i can't just throw em away.

I am with you Johnnie! I have a couple drawers full of old worn knives to prove it.


Fran-
Awesome bit of history. We will be awaiting your further discoveries!

Dale

jonet143 wrote:great old worn in knives guys. here is a worn in keenkutter barlow. ya know, i can't just throw em away.

Throw it away???
Just when it gets broken in?? No Way!!

Actually, I've seen woodcarver's knives reshaped from new into smaller-bladed knives. At first I thought "what an awful thing to do", but when it suits the work, that's the right thing!